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For many Detroiters, sighs of relief Friday on hearing of the federal auto loans quickly gave way to an agonized realization of just how painful the restructuring ahead will be.

Having avoided a chaotic bankruptcy, the Detroit Three and, by extension, the broader Michigan community must now carry out deep new cuts in the economic fiber of the state.

“There’s going to be fewer factories, fewer salaried and hourly workers, lower compensation, fewer brands, fewer models, fewer dealers,” Dana Johnson, senior economist with Dallas-based Comerica Inc., said of the near-term outlook. “Everything is going to continue to be rapidly downsized, just not in as chaotic a process if they had not gotten the financing.”

Given the importance of the auto industry to Michigan, the restructuring inevitably will bleed over into a broader cultural shift in how Michiganders see themselves and their economic life, said Doug Rothwell, president of the corporate leadership group Detroit Renaissance.

“The culture is the thing we’ve got to deal with the most, and that’s the toughest to deal with,” Rothwell said. He cited attitudes toward education, race and geographic boundaries among things that influence Michigan’s economic outlook — “all the stuff that’s tied us up in knots for years.”

“That’s the stuff we’ve got to work through and get through if we’re going to be competitive in the future,” he said.

Certainly employees of the Detroit Three felt the anxiety as much as the relief Friday at avoiding Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Bryan Mahlmeister, a marketing research manager for General Motors Corp., said Friday that he and his fellow workers have lots of questions about how the restructuring will take place.

“You just can’t make all these changes and cuts to all these programs and get rid of brands without eliminating more people,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of angst in the first quarter just to see how things go.”

More declines predicted

Indeed, economist Johnson forecasts a further decline in Michigan’s labor force in 2009 as the auto restructuring and national recession bite deep. He projects a loss of another 30,000 jobs in the automotive industry next year and 60,000 nonautomotive jobs — “another year of recession.”

The relief felt over the federal auto loans, therefore, must be tempered by the unpleasant reality of what those loans mean. “There was never a happy outcome,” Johnson said. “There was just a less-bad outcome.”

Broadly speaking, Michigan’s economic and cultural life has been defined for decades by a beneficence bestowed by GM, Ford Motor Co., Chrysler and their suppliers. That corporate largesse included everything from company-wide shutdowns during the Christmas holidays to superlative blue-collar wages and benefits and bountiful support to local charities.

That culture legacy has been under strain for years as Detroit Three market shares contracted year by year.

Though more diversified than a generation ago, Michigan’s auto legacy still weighs on the labor market. The state has seen eight consecutive years of job loss and over the past year has led or been near the top among states in unemployment, which hit 9.6% last month.

Visible cracks in metro Detroit’s self-image showed up in decreased giving to the annual United Way campaign, the dwindling of automotive payrolls, and, as recently as last week, the canceling of the 2009 Grand Prix auto races on Belle Isle for insufficient sponsorships.

Though wounded, the Detroit Three continue to influence all aspects of local life and will for decades to come.

At Andiamo restaurant in the Renaissance Center, Mike Nowinski, the operating partner, said he had been watching CNN daily in hopes the auto companies would get the federal money needed to survive.

“GM is our lifeblood here and also for the country, I think. If this bridge did not come through, this country would be in big trouble,” he said Friday, shortly after President George W. Bush announced the federal loans.

Read full article - Michigan prepares for next financial challenge

  

By HIAWATHA BRAY, Boston Globe
First published in print: Thursday, December 18, 2008

One of Hollywood’s top producers said the ongoing financial crisis is hampering his efforts to release digital 3-D movies.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., said all future movies from his studios will be made in digital 3-D. But today only about 1,500 of the 36,000 theater screens in America are capable of showing such films,

“Until the financial markets come unstuck, which is probably late in the first quarter, the next round of the digital rollout is on a very slow pathway,” Katzenberg said during a visit to Boston earlier this week to show off clips from his studio’s upcoming film, “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

It costs about $70,000 to convert a single movie screen to the digital projection system for the 3-D films. But many theater owners can’t afford to make the switch. Theaters are finding it tough to borrow the money, as banks tighten their lending practices after years of ill-advised loans.

Katzenberg said about 2,500 screens should be converted to digital 3-D by March, in time for the release of “Monsters vs. Aliens.” Katzenberg thinks credit markets will have loosened up by May 2010, when DreamWorks Animation releases the fourth in its series of Shrek movies. He expects there will be 7,500 theaters capable of showing the film in digital 3-D.

Katzenberg noted the percentage of Americans going to movies has steadily declined for decades. Last year, the industry sold 1.4 billion movie tickets, 38 million fewer than in 1998, even though the US population grew about 30 million during the period. Katzenberg called digital 3-D cinema “the greatest opportunity of my time to reverse this,” and compared it to the introduction of soundtracks to movies in the 1920s and color films in the 1930s.

Read this full article - Dreamworks 3-D riding out economic crisis

  

Treatments can vary widely, from medication to surgery or herbs
By CINDY GEORGE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Constant shooting, stinging, throbbing and other painful head-pounding could ruin — or rule — your life.

Up to 35 million Americans suffer migraine and other forms of headache, according to the American Academy of Neurology.

• FOUR TYPES OF HEADACHES: The main types of headaches are tension, migraine, cluster and hormone.
Tension headaches, the most common, cause a band-like sensation or other pressure around the head. Most migraine headaches occur on one side of the head. Described as the most intense, cluster headaches attack in groups. Hormone headaches are associated with women’s menstrual cycles.

• OTHER TYPES OF HEADACHES: You might also experience over-medication rebound headaches, sinus headaches and those caused by brain abnormalities, including tumors.
• TRIGGERS: Stress, certain foods and sleeping patterns can trigger headaches.
“Eating meals regularly, staying well-hydrated and trying to minimize stress in life, sleeping well and getting exercise really do make a difference,” said Dr. Pamela Blake, a Houston neurologist at Memorial Hermann Northwest.

Changing weather that causes barometric pressure to spike or dip could be the culprit.

“When the fronts are coming in, primarily in the spring and fall, that will trigger headaches in the front of the head or face,”said Dr. Howard S. Derman, a neurologist at The Methodist Hospital. “People sometimes think those are sinus headaches because of spring flowers, but they’re really not.”

The same concept applies to people plagued with head pain while flying, hiking or mountain-climbing.

Read full article: So many ways to treat so many types of headache

  

Q. How is a migraine treated?

A. Migraines can be treated at two different times: once the person develops a migraine or before they develop one. Both treatments are done with medications that relieve the symptoms, though outcomes are usually better when the migraine is treated as early as possible.

Some women can get severe migraines around their time of menstruation. These types of migraines can be helped with the use of hormones or birth control pills.

Q. When should I get medical help for migraines?

A. You can take over-the-counter, pain-relieving drugs once you experience the first signs or symptoms of a migraine. However, if you are taking over-the-counter medications for them more than eight times a month you should look into seeing your doctor about a prescription treatment. These medications are preventive in nature, sometimes taken daily, and serve to reduce the frequency and severity of the person’s migraines. Your doctor may also discuss medications to take at the first sign of a migraine. These medicines help eliminate the migraine or make the symptoms much more tolerable.

Q. What about alternative medicines or home remedies?

A. Any activity you find relaxing might lessen the effects of a migraine, such as taking a hot bath or sitting quietly in a darkened room. If you are experiencing chronic headache pain, some alternative remedies like massage or even acupuncture might provide relief. Ideally, you should consult a physician before beginning any alternative medicines.

Read full article - Ask the Expert: Treat migraines at first warning signs

  

Midsize sedans are no longer blandly styled, boring boxes for driving to work. Today we are seeing emotionally provocative and exciting designs on the common, everyday four-door sedan.

The Chevy Malibu didn’t become the 2008 North American Car of the Year by accident. Interior comfort and fine handling led by a compelling exterior design caught the attention of critics. So who should lead the pack of contenders for the title 2009 Car of the Year? I’d be willing to put money on the 2009 Mazda6.

The emotional design cues that are so essential to attracting buyers to toy cars, such as roadsters and convertibles, are finding their way to the meat-and-potatoes of the car market, the conservative five-passenger everyday driver - the midsize sedan.

With a starting price of $18,550, the glamorous Mazda6 looks like it’s worth twice that amount. There’s a silky sheen that floats over the velvet sheet metal. The Mazda team says the all-new Mazda6 is infused with Japanese values. The exterior glow, as on my dark blue tester, does reflect a harmony with nature, which is so intrinsic to the Japanese culture. The instrumentation gauges were brilliant in reds, purples, blues, whites and blacks without being blinding.

The Mazda6 has a low, flat, planted stance. And if you can imagine delicate ivory inlays in wood and furniture then you will understand the attention to craftsmanship designers say they applied to the details of the new Mazda6.

If you were going to consider the Mazda6, then you would want to test-drive both engine options offered on the 2009 sedan. Available in four trims (SV, Sport, Touring and Grand Touring), the base model is standard with the 2.5-liter, 170-horsepower four-cylinder engine coupled to a six-speed manual transmission.

The top-of-the-line model I drove was equipped with the 3.7-liter V6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. This powerful engine developed 272 horsepower at 6250 rpm and 269 pound-feet of torque at 4250 rpm. The EPA figures are estimated at 17 miles per gallon city, 25 mpg highway. The vehicle’s as-tested price was more consistent with its pricey looks at $32,790.

All 2009 Mazda6 sedans come standard with dynamic stability control, side curtain air bags, front seat-mounted side-impact air bags, antilock brakes, air conditioning, plus power windows, mirrors and door locks.

Full story:Mazda6 is all-new for 2009 and on target for “Car of the Year”

  

The automaker’s new $25 million, 62,000-square-foot data center is one of a handful in the United States that’s certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

By J. Nicholas Hoover
InformationWeek

Many business technology organizations are pursuing green computing, but what does that actually look like? At Honda’s new data center in Longmont, Colo., it entails floors made of recycled concrete, office furniture crafted of reused steel and newsprint, low-flow automatic faucets, motion-sensor lights, energy-efficient servers, outside air for cooling, and an Energy Star-certified roof.

Honda isn’t insulated from the economic pressures squeezing U.S. automakers; its U.S. sales fell 32% in November compared with a year ago. Honda’s green IT push should lead to lower energy costs and other efficiencies, though the bigger impetus is a company-wide commitment to being environmentally friendly, says Jennifer Sepull, CIO of American Honda.

Honda’s 61,000-square-foot data center, which opened in October, is one of a handful of U.S. data centers certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for green building construction. Honda spent more than $25 million on the data center, a price that included a premium for its green design. Because the facility is only 2 months old, Sepull declined to estimate just how much Honda stands to save in energy costs.

Honda selected building materials based on proximity to the data center’s location and materials that were produced in an “environmentally responsible manner,” Sepull says. And it recycled 73% of the construction waste associated with the project. The company left much of the site undeveloped and replanted trees and shrubs indigenous to the area.

Data center administrators were trained in how to be more energy efficient. For example, they were advised to decommission unused equipment quickly and to use management tools to ensure that servers are optimally provisioned. Honda has found that energy-monitoring tools aren’t up to snuff and that the data they generate needs to be more comprehensive. “They’re just coming on the market,” Sepull says. “We monitor electricity, but monitoring will get more advanced to give us better day-to-day awareness.”

read full article - In Pursuit Of New Efficiencies, Honda Drives Green IT Effort

  

We get some odd-ball press releases and story pitches here at TechFlash HQ. And this one, from a Fremont, Calif.-based company that has developed a $99.99 anti-snoring device called SnorePro certainly would qualify.

“HBI-USA, a biomedical device company, announced today its new SnorePro which uses its proprietary Dynamic Snore Detection (DSD) technology to precisely detect snores and to gently issue a programmable digital pulse to prevent snoring. The digital pulse functions like a spouse by nudging their snoring bedmate, which in turn trains the body to change sleep positions to eliminate the snoring. Bedmates of snorers lose an average of one hour of sleep per night due to snoring. The stimulation may disturb the snorer; however, it helps their bedmates to enjoy and regain sleep as they won’t have to nudge the snorer any more.”

Described as a wrist-watch style device with a built-in LCD screen, the press release goes on to say that the SnorePro can track the improvements of the snorer over time.

Read full article here

Source

  

By Stefanie Haxel

Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Germany’s DAX Index declined for the first time in three days as interest-rate cuts by European policy makers failed to ease concern the region’s economy will deteriorate further.

Hypo Real Estate Holding AG and Continental AG dropped at least 2 percent after Deutsche Boerse AG said the companies’ shares will be removed from the benchmark index this month. E.ON AG and RWE AG, Germany’s biggest utilities, retreated as power for next-year delivery slid to a 15-month low.

The DAX Index slipped 0.1 percent to 4,564.23 after gaining as much as 3.6 percent earlier. DAX futures expiring this month retreated 1.6 percent as of 6:07 p.m. in Frankfurt. The broader HDAX Index added less than 0.1 percent.

Germany’s DAX Index is down 43 percent this year as almost $1 trillion in credit-related losses and writedowns at financial firms worldwide push the economy toward a recession, damping the outlook for earnings.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the euro region’s economy will shrink next year for the first time since 1993 after the bank delivered the biggest interest-rate cut in its 10-year history, reducing borrowing costs by 75 basis points to 2.5 percent.

The ECB’s decision came after the Bank of England today lowered its key rate by one percentage point to 2 percent and Sweden’s central bank cut borrowing costs by the most since 1992.

Hypo Real Estate lost 7.1 percent to 2.89 euros, the biggest drop in two weeks. The property lender will be replaced by Salzgitter AG in the DAX on Dec. 22. Salzgitter, Germany’s second-largest steelmaker, climbed 4.2 percent to 51.42 euros.

Continental, Utilities

Continental lost 2.4 percent to 35.82 euros. Europe’s second-biggest car-parts maker that’s being acquired by Schaeffler Group will be replaced by Beiersdorf AG, which slipped 0.7 percent to 43.42 euros today. The maker of Nivea skin creams aims to expand more quickly than the market next year, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Quaas said today.

E.ON, Germany’s biggest utility, lost 1.9 percent to 24.98 euros. RWE, the second-largest, sank 2.3 percent to 61.80 euros.

Electricity for next year in Germany, Europe’s biggest power market, slid to the lowest since Aug. 28, 2007, on expectation demand for power will weaken as economic growth in Europe stalls.

The following stocks also rose or fell in German markets. Symbols are in parentheses.

Read full article: German Stocks Drop; Hypo Real Estate, Continental, E.ON Fall

  

There are various causes of frequent headache. Some of these causes of frequent headache are quite common whereas some are quite rare. Everybody may have had a headache at some point of time in their lives and the severe pain may have forced them into rushing to get speedy medical attention to alleviate the excruciating pain without evaluating the causes of frequent headache. The causes of headaches and dizziness vary. If the headache persists or repeats, it is better to take a close look at what are the underlying causes of the frequent headache.

Some causes of frequent headaches may be linked with
- meningitis,
- blood pressure,
- strokes ,
- brain tumors, though they may yet be only rare causes of frequent headaches.

The more likely causes of frequent headaches are simple ones such as
- viral infection,
- sinusitis,
- fatigue and headache,
- other forms of tension ,
- musculo-skeletal conditions.

Below are some explanations of common causes of frequent headaches.

Meningitis
Meningitis causes an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and is very serious. If not treated immediately, it may even result in death. If the cause of frequent headache is due to meningitis, the sufferer must be transferred to a hospital for treatment. Please be warned that in its early stages, it may only seem to be nothing more than the ‘flu’.

Read full article: Major Causes of Frequent Headache

From: Major Causes of Frequent Headache